The Spring Ballbuster

Another weekend, another race. This time it was the Spring Ballbuster, a duathlon in Surrey based around Box Hill. The course was an 8 mile circuit finishing up Box Hill and was to be run once, cycled three times and then run again.

I was meant to get up at 5:40 am but woke at 4:50 and couldn't get back to sleep. For some reason, I was particularly nervous about this event. A duathlon is out of my comfort zone as I've only done one before and that was a short one.

The sun came up as I drove to the start and the early morning mist cleared to show another beautiful day. It was chilly but I knew it would be warm for the last run. I got there on time, queued for the loo, got my race number and racked my bike in the transition area. It felt like a very serious race with lots of athletic looking people with tight lycra and expensive bikes. This didn't help my nerves and my Garmin said my heart rate was all the way up to 110 bpm and we hadn't even started.

There was warning after warning in the build-up to the event that told us not to go out too fast otherwise you will blow up on the final run so with this in mind, I took it easy on the first run. I was aiming for around 1 hr 10 mins which was slower than I did it in training. I got chatting to some people which helped the miles go quick and before I knew it, I was at the base of Box Hill. I plodded up it trying to keep my HR below 160.

I got to the top in 1:08 and went to get my bike. I was very slow with my transition in the London Duathlon so I tried to make it quicker but still faffed around taking over 3 minutes.

The first lap on the bike was painful. My quads hurt and I couldn't get going. I tried to find people in the distance and reel them in but it was hard going. After the ascent of Box Hill, my legs seemed to loosen up and my second lap was better. I was catching people and I passed 7 or 8 riders on Box Hill. The last lap was even better as I managed to keep going and again passed about 5 people on the hill.

My second transition was also about 3 minutes. It was warm by now and I should have taken my compression base layer off but I couldn't be bothered. I quick swig of SiS and I was off again.

The first mile of the run was slow and I was worried that I would miss out on the sub-4 I was trying for. If I couldn't go faster, I wouldn't make it. A Serpentine runner was going a little faster so I latched onto the back of him and forced the pace. This helped and with 4 miles to go, I passed him and got faster. I was really pleased with how I was feeling and I made up many places before getting to Box Hill. The last 1.7 miles up the hill was hard work but I just kept picking out people ahead and trying to catch them. I even managed a sprint finish to beat someone in a one-piece triathlon suit.

I was very pleased with my performance. In hindsight, I could have gone a bit quicker on the first run and with practice, I could get quicker after the transitions.

Run 1: 01:08:20
Average Speed: 8:32 minute miles
Transition 1: 00:03:11
Bike 1: 00:30:06
Average Speed: 15.95 mph
Bike 2: 00:28:20
Average Speed: 16.95 mph
Bike 3: 00:27:29
Average Speed: 17.47 mph
Transition 2: 00:03:19
Run 2: 01:05:26
Average Speed: 8:10 minute miles

Average Heart Rate: 154 bpm (83% of max)
Elevation Gain: 3,651 feet
Calories: 3,800

Position after 1st run: 212th
Position after Bike: 179th
Final Position: 161st
Starters: 248
Finishers: 2311st
First Place: 2:37:14
Last Place: 4:58:15

Another great ride and road rage

I had another great ride yesterday. Out in Richmond Park again with Ed. We also met up with Stephen, a friend from the Dad's group. He is riding the Etape Caledonia in May and needed to get some training in. We all did three good laps before Ed and I went to Sigma Sports in Kingston.

I did have a bit of a road rage incident. I was riding next too Ed at around 18mph when I could feel a car behind sitting very close. The speed limit in the park is 20mph so I wasn't exactly holding them up but I decided not to annoy them and pulled back in behind Ed.

The car came past but it stopped along side me. The window of the Mercedes hatchback came down and a middle aged women started shouting at me to get over onto the cycle path. She then sped off. Now, firstly, I believe I have every right to cycle on the roads even if there is a cycle path. Secondly, the highway code says "never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends" so riding next to Ed on a wide, straight rode was fine (and don't forget I pulled in for her). Lastly, the cycle path she talked about was really a pavement. It was used by cyclists but its not specifically designed for them.

So I stewed and stewed and got crosser and crosser. She was just up ahead so I decided to talk to her. I caught up with her car to see her wind up the window. I politely knocked on the window and she wound it down. I explained that I was allowed on the road, that the cycle-track was a footpath, asked her why she was speeding in the park and why she felt she couldn't share the road with me. She shouted at me to get off the road and sped off and got some distance ahead.

We were now coming down the longest hill in Richmond Park and I could still see her so I put the hammer down, got to 38 mph and caught her again. I went screaming past her with my lungs on fire and waved. Ed had no idea what was going on but decided to join in and came after me. He was much more mature and gave her the bird.

My actions were not all that clever but it makes me so angry that people just can't be chilled and patient. If she had sat behind me she wouldn't have been late for whatever important appointment she had. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place and there was no need for anyone to get aggressive. Shame on her.

Beautiful Day

A decent start to the week. I did 10 miles bike and a 4 mile run on Monday and a 12 mile bike and a 3 mile run in the gym on Tuesday. I also did loads of stretching on both days which has really helped loosen my legs up.

Today I went out to Richmond Park and did 37 miles with Ed. It was a perfect day. Shorts and jersey weather, no wind, blue sky and a quiet park.

We didn't push it but got to a decent speed for 3 laps before heading to Prologue Bikes in East Sheen. It was just full of gorgeous bikes. If I was a rich man, I could fill my garage (if I had one) with many of these beautiful machines. I was looking for new wheels and had a chat to Bruce, who gave me some advice. I might be back next week.

We were back into Richmond Park for a little bit more riding before home. The park is full of dear at the moment. The cull happens soon where they close the park and "reduce the numbers in the herd" and fill the local restaurants with venison. Yum! Thanks to Flickr for the photo.

This is my video for Sunday's ride.

Its a Silver

Ride Facts

Distance: 71 miles

Climb: 6000 feet (approx.)

Finishing Place: 44th

Total Riders: 233

Total Finishers: 227

Rider Time: 4:21:58

Average Speed: 16.26 mph

Official Time: 4:25:00

Average Speed: 16.08 mph

Ranking: Silver

I was so delighted with top 50. That's top 20% at the 5K yesterday and top 20% today. I'm made up with that. And its my first Silver award.

The boys

Ed: 48th, 4:26:48, Silver
SimonO: 55th, 4:28:46, Silver
Bob: 56th, 4:28:47, Silver

Burgess Hill Spring Classic Cyclosportive

I was up at 6:00am for porridge and the short drive to Wimbledon to get Ed. We were off again by 7:20 and drove the 45 miles to Burgess Hill. We got there with plenty of time, got our race number and had a free cup of coffee. We met up with friends SimonO and Bob who were also doing the Classic 71 mile route.

We set off after a small delay and were quickly flying down the roads. My plan was to try and stay with the fast people for as long as possible. Simon and Bob are quick and Ed is in great form and faster then me. The first 10 miles were crazy. I was behind SimonO and then Ed and then I took a turn on the front. But I knew it wouldn't last. At a small hill, Ed jump round two other riders and I didn't go. Within seconds, Simon and Bob were round me and they were gone. On the long hill called The Wall, I saw them nearly at the top (you can't miss Ed's Frosties jersey) and I wondered how big the gap would be at the end.

The Wall came after 25 miles and I was familiar with it. I had climbed it during the Hell of the Ashdown when it seemed quite hard but in the sunny conditions it wasn't too bad and I was up it without much trouble.

At mile 40 I arrived at the first food stop. I had only used one SiS bottle and I had a full water bottle left and a Clif Bar so I just had my chip scanned and continued. I wanted to try and keep the gap between myself and the others down to a minimum. I didn't want them beating me a 30 minutes or more.

I continued on my own as there were no groups around. No chance of drafting off anyone. It was at this point that I found myself passing people. To my surprise, I caught up with a steady stream of riders and went passed them. I got passed by a few riders by I was passing many more.

The second half of the ride had some really nasty hills. One was particularly steep at over 20%. I did hear that Ed had nearly fallen off here. I didn't do too much better as about half way up I realised I was in a much higher gear than I had thought and I couldn't change down fast enough and came to a grinding halt. When I tried to start again I very nearly fell off. I had to either walk or ride down to the bottom and do it again. I rode down and did it again.

I got to the second feed stop at mile 50 where I grabbed some cake, got my bottle filled with SiS and scanned my chip without getting off my bike. It was then a short ride with some nasty little hills before the 3rd and last stop at mile 60. It was literally stop, get scanned and get off again.

The last 11 miles were really good. I was feeling strong and had kept a pretty constant speed since being left by the boys. I made it with a ride time of 4:22 and waited in line for my official result. As I got my official time of 4:25:00 (3 stops and a wee in 3 minutes) I heard someone calling my name. I looked round and there was Ed. And further back Simon and Bob. Somehow, I had finished in front of them all. I was staggered and so were they. It turned out that they had stopped at the first food stop for a couple of minutes and I had gone past them. And for the rest of the 32 miles we had cycled at pretty much the same pace so I was 90 seconds ahead of Ed and 3 minutes ahead of the other two. I know its not a race but given than I'm usually in Ed's wake, it was nice to be in front for a change.

5K PB

I have had a good couple of days on the bike. On Wednesday I did some speedwork and on Friday, I did hill reps. I cycled to the Dad's group for a coffee and I planned to go to Richmond Park afterwards to do some laps.

However, the road from Wimbledon Park goes up quite sharply and a friend, Stephen, had told me of Home Park Road. It is a very very posh road overlooking the park and Wimbledon (as in Centre Court, Henman Hill and strawberries). It has a decent hill that gets up to 11 or 12% and you can really attack it. I did 12 laps of that 1.1 mile circuit and felt pretty good. It did over 30 miles in total.

Today, I had to drop my daughter off at school at 7:45 am as she had a morning as a magistrate in some competition. So I decided to head over to Bushy Park to do a 5K Park Run.

I haven't done a Park Run since September last year and I hadn't done Bushy Park since my first one in February 2008. I was pretty nervous but I wanted to see how quick I was. I feel faster than usual and the moment and my run in the gym last week indicated that I could beat my PB.

I set off down the long starting straight and then quickly remembered why I hate 5K runs. Within a minute I have no idea how I'm going to be able to keep this up for 5km. I tried to keep a constant pace and got to half way feeling ok. I then started to slow a little but felt I was going to come in around the 22:00 minute mark and certainly under my previous PB of 22:24. As I approached the finish line, I was sure I'd come in under 22:00 but I didn't sprint for the line. WHY!!!!! I crossed and my watch said 22:00. BLOODY HELL. I'll be back on the 28th for another go as sub 22 is there for the taking and sub 21 is a possibility.

Results
Final Position: 123rd
Total Finishers: 503
Watch Time: 00:22:00
Official Time: 00:22:05
Winner: 00:16:02
Last Place: 00:41:33

6 seconds. Just 6 seconds!!!
Photo Courtesy of Park Run

Ahhhhhh, warmth

Goodbye tights, hello shorts.

I hope I'm not jumping the gun but I had a lovely ride today in my bibbed shorts, base layer and jersey. No gillet, no jacket, no tights and no big gloves. Its was great.

I've never been a lover of thights. I have never ever run in tights even in the depths of winter with snow on the ground but I was told by many that knee warmth is crucial for cyclists. So I got these horrible second hand (yuk!) bibbed tights that have lasted the winter. Now its finally warm enough for shorts and my legs can breathe.

The shorts in the picture are my old shorts. My new ones arrive in the next two weeks from Wiggle. I went for the dhb Finchdean Bib Shorts. Lots of people told me to get Assos but they are really pricey and the dhb shorts got very high marks in all their reviews.

And the red ones match my bike. I was thinking of the white ones but I don't think I can pull off white lycra yet (or ever).

I also had a good ride today. 25 miles at a decent speed - 18 mph average. That included lots of traffic lights. I was told by a friend that just like running, if I wanted to ride faster, ride faster. So I did 5 or 6 miles of speed work riding about 20 seconds on the hammer then 30 seconds off.